The present invention relates to plumbing waste pipes and in particular to a waste or other drain pipe incorporating a lead trap or otherxe2x80x9cSxe2x80x9d orxe2x80x9cUxe2x80x9d shaped piping configuration.
Connection of waste pipes from popular plumbing units, such as toilets and sinks, to a sewer line would not be acceptable in most applications without some device in place to prevent noxious sewer gas, vermin or other undesirable effects from entering a building through the piping. One device commonly used to contain undesirable effects within the piping is a water trap set near the outlet of each unit. Typically, a water trap is constructed from anxe2x80x9cSxe2x80x9d orxe2x80x9cUxe2x80x9d shaped portion of waste pipe containing a sufficient amount of water to completely fill a small volume of the piping and thereby seal off the passage of gases or vermin from a sewer line into a building through the waste pipe.
Plumbing waste pipe has traditionally been fashioned out of cast iron or galvanized steel and more recently out of polyvinyl chloride or other water resistant material. In residential and light commercial buildings, the waste pipe is typically located directly alongside or in close proximity to floor joists or other structural support for the building. In larger commercial type construction, the waste pipe is typically cast in cement. In either case, access to the piping is usually limited once a building is complete with floors and walls in place.
Although waste pipe is usually a heavily constructed pipe, the corrosive effects from years of exposure to water and waste can eventually weaken the pipe. In addition, mechanical stresses such as those introduced by electric snakes or other devices utilized to dislodge a clogged drain can cause a waste pipe to fail. Often the failure includes a hole in the portion of pipe that comprises the water trap. Due to the physical location of the pipe comprising the water trap in relation to building components, partial disassembly of the building is often required to access the failed portion of pipe in order to repair the waste pipe by replacing said failed portion. Disassembly may include removal of sections of ceilings or floors, cutting floor joists in a residential building, or chiseling into the cement in a commercial building. As a result, repair of such failure is costly and time intensive. In addition, a plumber is often required to coordinate the services of other building trades in order to complete the repair.
What is needed is a method and device for effecting a repair through the water trap section of a waste pipe without having to remove the pipe or otherwise gain access to the body portion of the pipe.
Accordingly, a method and device is provided for repairing a plumbing waste pipe without having to remove a failed portion of the waste pipe. A flexible sleeve with a flange is fit inside the failed waste pipe such that the outer circumference of the sleeve is in radial contact with the inner circumference of the failed pipe and the body of the sleeve extends through the failed waste pipe beyond the point of failure. The flange can be fastened between the plumbing fixture and the failed waste pipe to securely maintain the flexible sleeve within the failed pipe. Water and waste material will enter the sleeve through the flange and pass through the interior of the sleeve beyond the point of failure in the waste pipe. The water and waste can then be discharged into the waste pipe to be carried along its normal route.
A piping insert is utilized to repair a failed plumbing waste pipe, and in particular a waste trap. The piping insert will include a radial pipe with a wall of flexible and waterproof material, such as vinyl, wherein the wall has an outside diameter sized to be in radial contact with an inside diameter of a failed waste pipe. An insert flange can be fixedly attached to one end of the radial pipe and include mounting holes in the insert flange spaced to align with mounting holes in a waste flange attached to a plumbing fixture.
The piping insert can additionally include a reinforcement rib radially molded into the wall of the radial pipe. The reinforcement rib can include a continuous coil molded or a series of radial ribs molded into the flexible material making up the wall of the radial pipe. The reinforcement rib can be include nylon, plastic, steel, aluminum or fiberglass for structural support. In addition, the piping insert can include a rounded surface conducive to forming a radial seal against the interior wall of the waste pipe.
The present invention can also include a method for repairing a failed plumbing waste pipe trap wherein the user of the present invention removes a plumbing fixture attached to a flange on the failed plumbing waste pipe and inserts a flexible pipe insert into the failed plumbing waste pipe via the flange. The flexible pipe insert is inserted beyond a point of failure on the failed waste pipe and secured to the flexible pipe. It can be secured with mounting bolts through the flange and/or an adhesive.
Before insertion, the user of the present invention can determine a length of flexible pipe insert necessary to extend from the flange on the failed plumbing waste pipe to a the point beyond the failure. The flexible insert can then be cut to a length approximately equal to the determined length.
The present invention accordingly comprises the features of construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts that will be exemplified in the following detailed disclosure, and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims. Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description, the drawings and the claims.